Sketchbook Cobbling

So WAY WAY back in 2007, the first time I was in Italy, I got a really beautiful sheet of marbled paper. And what did I do with it, you ask? Well I very carefully ignored it for seven years, that’s what. BUT AFTER THAT, I finally decided to use the damn thing to repair and/or improve some sketchbooks that were in desperate need of repair. Or improvement. Take a look!

The top one reeeeally needed the repair, and the bottom one reeeeally needed to look less boring.

So having done a half-decent job at sketchbook repair, and with a lot of the marble paper leftover, I figured I’d try my hand at making a whole new one…

BEHOLD! A sketchbook of marker paper!! Marker paper always comes in those stupid pads, and bros, a pad of paper just ain’t the same as a sketchbook. I had decided to spend a few days over my birthday in Ottawa drawering at the Museum of Nature, so that’s where this little bro got it’s first test run. There’s a few things to do better next time or whatever, but I think it’s pretty goddam good for my first book!

It's not gonna win me carpenter-of-the-year, but it's a place to hang up the old toothbrush.

The spine needs a little reinforcement, which I kinda figured, but it's structurally sound on the inside till I get around to it.

I think I'll reinforce all the corners, too, and make it look real fancy.

This isn't a huge deal, but I can't use both sides of every sheet cause of that greasy old marker bleed. (And I think marker paper technically has a proper front-side, which I didn't consider when I grouped the pages, but that really doesn't matter to greasy old me)